Appellate 101: Your First Appeal (or First in a Long Time) (Online Seminar)

A pre-recorded streaming VIDEO replay of the September 2015 webcast, Appellate 101: Your First Appeal (or First in a Long Time).

This course will explain the jurisdictions of the various appellate courts in Virginia, the Rules of Court that apply in each of them, and the most common problems and solutions encountered on appeal. It’s for Virginia lawyers who haven’t done an appeal yet, or those who haven’t done an appeal recently.

Topics to be discussed include:

• Planning Your Appeal
  • When do I start?
  • Which appellate court is the correct one?
  • Using time and money wisely
• Preserving Trial Court Error in the Record
  • What is trial court error?
  • What is preservation?
  • What does the record consist of?
• Interlocutory Appeals and Appealing Injunctions
• The Court of Appeals of Virginia
  • Appeals of right
  • Discretionary appeals
• The Supreme Court of Virginia
  • Appeals of right
  • Discretionary appeals
  • Appeals from the Court of Appeals of Virginia
• Court Support Staff
  • The role of the Circuit Court Clerk
  • The role of the appellate court clerk
  • The role of the Chief Staff Attorney
• Writing: The Petition, Briefs, and Motions
• Speaking: Before the Writ Panel and Full Court
• The United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit
  • Electronic filing
  • Transcripts
  • Interlocutory appeals and appealing injunctions

 

Jeffrey M. Summers, The Law Office of Jeffrey M. Summers, PLLC / Richmond
Jeffrey M. Summers is a solo appellate practitioner in Richmond, Virginia. He practices before the Supreme Court of Virginia, the Court of Appeals of Virginia, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. He limits his current practice to appellate matters and any post-trial work that it takes to set up the appeal.  Mr. Summers served in the U.S. Marines as a communications officer from 1976 to 1997, retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel.  He has a B.S. in Business from Valparaiso University, an M.A. in Management from Webster University, and his J.D. from the George Mason University School of Law.  Mr. Summers belongs to the Virginia State Bar’s Litigation Section and Education of Lawyers Section, The Virginia Bar Association’s Appellate Practice Section (where he is the Immediate Past Chair), and the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association’s Appellate Practice Section. He also belongs to the Local Government Attorneys of Virginia and City of Richmond and Henrico County Bar Associations.

Norman A. Thomas, Norman A. Thomas, PLLC / Richmond
Norman A. Thomas is the owner of Norman A. Thomas, PLLC.  Founded by Mr. Thomas in March 2014, the firm accepts both civil and criminal appeals in Virginia’s appellate tribunals, the State Corporation Commission of Virginia, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.  Mr. Thomas graduated from the University of Virginia in 1978, earning a Bachelor of Arts, with Distinction, in Government and Economics.  He then attended the Marshall-Wythe School of Law at the College of William and Mary, where he received his Juris Doctor degree in 1981. He began the practice of law with the Norfolk law firm of Crenshaw, Ware and Johnson.  His legal career has included thirty-one years of public service, in such positions as Opinions Counsel and Senior Appellate Counsel of the Office of the Attorney General of Virginia, Judge of the Norfolk Circuit Court, Judge of the Norfolk General District Court, Norfolk’s Chief Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney, Deputy City Attorney in Norfolk, and the first Law Clerk of the late Judge Joseph E. Baker of the Virginia Court of Appeals.  In addition to his membership in the Virginia State Bar, Mr. Thomas is a member of the American Bar Association, The Virginia Bar Association, and the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association.